Code School Problems

This Curagami post shares five problems we experienced at The Iron Yard coding school in Durham, North Carolina. The post places code schools in the context of problems we would have had hiring a graduate when we ran an e-commerce web design shop. Problems such as:

• They teach “academic” not business coding
• No Student Vetting or Skills-Based Placement
• Value/Benefits Proposition is Off
• Can't Keep Great Teachers
• More Than Ten Year Discrepancy Is Almost Impossible to Overcome

In our class of more than twenty students, we doubt more than five are working in a web design shop today. So more than $100,000 was spent, tuition then was $10K for twelve weeks of class, with little return, chance to change the student's career or provide value $1.50 in late fees from the library or other online classes couldn't provide. 

Read our warnings about code schools before you buy their promises: http://www.curagami.com/code-schools-will-they-change-your-life/ 

E-Com's Future is MAYA In 5 Inescapable Trends
MAYA is influential designer Raymond Loewy's Most Advanced Yet Acceptable idea. If there is a better description for the future of online commerce and web design we don't know it (and would like to learn it so please share). 

The Made To Stick rules says too new is BAD. Sell the new from versioning the old and that is what MAYA is all about as we share in this Curagami post: http://www.curagami.com/maya-five-inescapable-web-marketing-trends/ 

The Little Haiku Deck That Could
Our Asking Ecommerce Questions Haiku Deck (http://shar.es/1g6S5q ) is becoming the little deck that could. To say these slides are a testimony to the power of fast feedback loops and iteration is an understatement.

With three sets of video notes (more coming soon) and three major changes based on feedback from attendees at conferences where we've been presenting the little deck that could Ask For Help: Asking Key Ecommerce Questions proves another important point - everything is a curated conversation now.

Thus the power of @Scoop.itand thus Google's QDF (Quality Deserves Freshness) demand. When we started this little deck had a few hundred views. Now, thanks to feedback and support from those providing the feedback almost 2,000 people have learned to do the hardest thing in the galaxy (at least for American men) - ASK FOR HELP!

Thanks for all the help we've received creating the little Haiku Deck That Could. Marty